Greetings, I’m Wanya Jefferson. My family is living a nightmare we can’t wake up from. On Thursday, November 13th, 2025, our father, Joseph Carroll Jefferson Jr. left this world without a warning, without a goodbye, and without giving us one last chance to hear his voice. The shock has broken us in ways we didn’t know were possible. One moment he was here, laughing, talking, being himself, and the next, he was just… gone. Our hearts feel like they’ve been ripped open, and every breath since that day has felt heavier than the last.

My dad wasn’t just a father, he was the heart of the entire family. He was the safe space, the protector, the one who tried so hard to carry the weight of the world so no one had to. To lose him so suddenly feels like the ground has disappeared beneath us. There’s an emptiness in our home now, a silence we don’t know how to fill.

He leaves behind the love of his life and wife of over 40 years, Lasonda Mitchell, who is completely devastated. Watching her hurt like this is its own kind of heartbreak. And he leaves behind us, his children: Joseph III, Nicole, Dahnzhay, Wanya, Kiana, and Trey Jefferson. Each of us is trying to stay strong, even though we feel like pieces of ourselves are missing. We keep waiting to hear him walk through the door, but that moment will never come again.

We never imagined we’d be here, grieving, planning a funeral, and trying to be strong when none of us feel strong at all. What makes this even harder is that our dad didn’t have life insurance. We are doing our best, but the financial burden is crushing us during a time when all we want is the space to cry, to mourn, and to figure out how to live in a world without him.

That’s why we’re asking for help. We are hoping to raise $5,000 to give our father the proper funeral he deserves, something worthy of the man who gave so much of himself to everyone around him. Any amount, even a dollar, every cent will help us in ways we can’t put into words. If you can’t donate, we ask that you please share this or keep our family in your prayers as we face the hardest chapter of our lives.

family in your prayers as we face the hardest chapter of our lives.

Thank you for loving him, for supporting us, and for helping us give our father the goodbye he earned a thousand times over.